Psalms 81:12

81:12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires; ¹ 

they did what seemed right to them. ² 

Ecclesiastes 7:26

7:26 I discovered this: ³ 

More bitter than death is the kind of ⁴  woman ⁵  who is like a hunter’s snare; ⁶ 

her heart is like a hunter’s net and her hands are like prison chains.

The man who pleases God escapes her,

but the sinner is captured by her.

Jeremiah 13:23

13:23 But there is little hope for you ever doing good,

you who are so accustomed to doing evil.

Can an Ethiopian ⁷  change the color of his skin?

Can a leopard remove its spots? ⁸ 

Hosea 4:14

4:14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit prostitution,

nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery.

For the men consort with harlots,

they sacrifice with temple prostitutes.

It is true: ⁹  “A people that lacks understanding will come to ruin!”

Matthew 19:24-26

19:24 Again I say, ¹⁰  it is easier for a camel ¹¹  to go through the eye of a needle ¹²  than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.” 19:25 The ¹³  disciples were greatly astonished when they heard this and said, “Then who can be saved?” ¹⁴  19:26 Jesus ¹⁵  looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans, ¹⁶  but for God all things are possible.”

[81:12]  ¹ tn Heb “and I sent him away in the stubbornness of their heart.”

[81:12]  ² tn Heb “they walked in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite (“walked”) or a customary imperfect (“were walking”).

[7:26]  ³ tn The word “this” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[7:26]  ⁴ tn The phrase “kind of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity (see the following note on the word “woman”).

[7:26]  ⁵ tn The article on הָאִשָּׁה (ha’ishah) functions in a particularizing sense (“the kind of woman”) rather than in a generic sense (i.e., “women”).

[7:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “is snares.” The plural form מְצוֹדִים (mÿtsodim, from the noun I מָצוֹד, matsod, “snare”) is used to connote either intensity, repeated or habitual action, or moral characteristic. For the function of the Hebrew plural, see IBHS 120-21 §7.4.2. The term II מָצוֹד “snare” is used in a concrete sense in reference to the hunter’s snare or net, but in a figurative sense of being ensnared by someone (Job 19:6; Prov 12:12; Eccl 7:26).

[13:23]  ⁷ tn This is a common proverb in English coming from this biblical passage. For cultures where it is not proverbial perhaps it would be better to translate “Can black people change the color of their skin?” Strictly speaking these are “Cushites” inhabitants of a region along the upper Nile south of Egypt. The Greek text is responsible for the identification with Ethiopia. The term in Greek is actually a epithet = “burnt face.”

[13:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? [Then] you also will be able to do good who are accustomed to do evil.” The English sentence has been restructured and rephrased in an attempt to produce some of the same rhetorical force the Hebrew original has in this context.

[4:14]  ⁹ tn The words “it is true” are supplied in the translation to indicate that this is a conclusion drawn on the preceding behavior. Cf. NAB “So must a people”; NRSV “thus a people”; TEV “As the proverb says, ‘A people.’”

[19:24]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “I say to you.”

[19:24]  ¹¹ tc A few late witnesses (579 1424 pc) read κάμιλον (kamilon, “rope”) for κάμηλον (kamhlon, “camel”), either through accidental misreading of the text or intentionally so as to soften Jesus’ words.

[19:24]  ¹² sn The eye of a needle refers to a sewing needle. (The gate in Jerusalem known as “The Needle’s Eye” was built during the middle ages and was not in existence in Jesus’ day.) Jesus was saying rhetorically that it is impossible for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom, unless God (v. 26) intervenes.

[19:25]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[19:25]  ¹⁴ sn The assumption is that the rich are blessed, so if they risk exclusion, who is left to be saved?

[19:26]  ¹⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[19:26]  ¹⁶ tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποις (anqrwpois) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NASB 1995 update, “people”). Because of the contrast here between mere mortals and God (“impossible for men, but for God all things are possible”) the phrase “mere humans” has been used in the translation. There may also be a slight wordplay with “the Son of Man” in v. 28.